Ireland has said it has received more than 100 inquiries from major firms looking to move from the UK because of Brexit .

Martin Shanahan, the chief executive of the Industrial Development Agency (IDA), said the bulk of the interest came from banks and financial institutions based in the City of London.

He told the Guardian newspaper that Dublin was looking to capitalise on Brexit by wooing firms with its low corporation tax rate and status as the only English speaking country in the EU after the UK leaves the trading bloc.

Theresa May has been warned of an exodus of major financial firms from London if she cannot guarantee "passporting rights" as part of our EU negotiations.